A conventional cylinder block for an internal combustion engine is often formed from a metal or metal alloy in a process often referred to as mono-block casting. In a mono-block casting, the cylinder block is formed as a single molding and solidifies as one free standing casting in a process such as sand casting or die casting. Recently, in an effort to reduce weight, forming the cylinder block of the engine from a composite material has been explored. Issues exist for forming a composite cylinder block as a mono-block casting due to different cure rates for various thicknesses in the block, different rates of thermal expansion between the composite material and any block inserts, and the difficulty in forming complex internal shapes.